Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-06-02
PocoN,p AND CHINOOK.
Bem1rkable Climatic Phenomeno Il the
Great Basin Region.


Remarkable Clim.tie Phenonen. q tb
Great Basin Region.
The ''pogonip" is a Nevada phe
nomenon, while the chinook belong
TO Montana The whites first made tn,
acquaintance of the pogonip abou
twenty years ago. when they went t.
White Pine County. at the time of the
striking of the almost pure silver OF
Treasure Hill Treasure CITY, on the
peak OF Treasure Hill. thousands of feel
above the level of the sea. is the true
home and stamping ground of the pogo.
nip The pogonip. so feared. is a sor,
Of frozen fog that fills the air at time:
in winter. 1t often appears on the
clearest and brightest Of DAYS, coming
suddenly from no one knows whence.
In an instant the air is filled with float
ing needles of ice. To breathe the pogo
nip is death to the lungs When il
comes people rush TO cover. The In
dams dread it as much as the whites.
They discovered the pogonip long
ago. Pogonip is an Indian word.
the very sound of which describes
the phenomenon to which it is
applied. 1t is the same with the
Piute word for cold. The word is
''oo-zoot-zoo,' and is full of shake and
SILVER. The pogonip appears to be
caused by the sudden freezing in the air
of the moisture which collects about the
summit of high peaks.
To stand in valley mile or two be-
low and look up at the top of mount
ain on which pogonip has appeared is a
sight beautiful and peculiar. In all
directions the cloudless heavens are a
deep, calm blue-if a color can be said
to be calm. The top of the peak is
hidden in the pogonip. which is as bril-
liant under the light of the sun as
those parhelia seen about the sun in
Attic regions. but it is a moving, shape
less mass of luminosity. From this
glittering cloud bright streamers are
often seen stretching away from the
mountain peak. that look like the waver-
ing and flashing wires that are shot up
ward by the aurora borealis. These
ribbons of fiery light stretch away in
direction opposite to that from which
the wind is blowing. They are evil
IDENTIFY shreds and strips of the pogo
nip that are torn off and waited away
by the gale.
On the top of the mountain the
poponip is so dense that one can see
through it to the distance of only few
yards. The air is filled with minute
and slender crystals of ice. These strik-
ing together produce a slight. con-
tinuous rustling sound. Breathed into
the lungs they prick like needles. The
phenomenon of the pogonip is to be
seen in winter in very many places in
Nevada about the tops of high mount
aims. also about most of the tall peaks
all through the Great Basin region.
While the coming of the ''pogonip''
is dreaded, the advent of the chinook
is heartily welcomed. The chinook
means warm weather. 1t is a phenom-
enally warm south or southwester1y
wind that strikes down into Montana,
Idaho. and other northern and snowy
regions lying east of the Sierra Nevada
and even into the regions
far to the eastward of the Rocky mount
aims.
1t is in a mild way sort of sirocco:
but is without the noXious qualities of
the sirocco that blows from the Libyan
deserts into Italy and Sicily. 1t appears
to be mixture of the dry. heated air of
the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico.
rising and mingling with the warm but
moister breezes moving eastward off the
Pacific Ocean. Somewhere in the upper
regions-high above the tops of all the
currents of air meet.
mingle, and finally descend upon the
regions of the north. just
where they are wanted and prayed for.
Before the chinook the snowdrifts melt
as before a blast of hot air blown
through a tube and directed against
them. As if by magic. the snowy COW
ering of the hills and valleys disappears.
The atmosphere is everywhere warm and
balmy. So much moisture has been
taken up by the air during the process
If melting away the snow that the
Dreezes are soft and sweet as those of
spring.
When old winter bowls and prowls
through the territories of our northern
1eighbors. and the whole face Of the |
lies buried in snow, no wonder !
hat We see in their newspapers so |
many appeals to the ''clerk of the
Weather" to send then the ''blessed !
chinook. Dare de guile, in VIrginiG
Enterprise.